


Overcome

by silkinsilence



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-04
Updated: 2015-01-04
Packaged: 2018-03-05 09:29:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3114908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silkinsilence/pseuds/silkinsilence
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ty Lee can't stand it anymore. Azula helps her make a lethal decision.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Overcome

It ate away at her, day after day. It lurked in the back of her mind and the depths of her heart no matter how hard she tried to think of other things, no matter how intently she kept a smile fixed on her face. And it was only getting worse, each time they saw each other, each time her princess's hands burned across her skin with fierce intensity, each time she saw the bare expanses of Azula's skin.

Ty Lee couldn't stand living with the knowledge inside of her. It was poisonous, and it was slowly destroying her. She couldn't see Azula without also seeing a shadow behind Azula. Every bruise she discovered forced her mind to imagine exactly how it had been inflicted.

Ever since she'd found out what Ozai was doing to his daughter, Ty Lee couldn't let the visions go. They rotted inside of her, making her ill, making her fall apart at the seams. And she smiled for Azula, because it was all she could do, and she lied when Mai asked whether there was anything wrong, although Mai almost certainly knew she was lying.

Ty Lee had endured too many nightmares. The thought of her princess, once sweet, untainted, was bitter and violent. She lay awake at night and pictured it. Her mind couldn't be stopped or swept back. Once the images began to appear in her head, there was no stopping them. A horrific slideshow dominated her imagination, playing over and over again. She saw the images imprinted on her eyelids, asleep or awake. She saw them when she looked at Azula. She tried very hard not to see them and not to think about them, but it was impossible.

She would lie alone in the dark, whether in the room Mai was lending her or in the palace at Azula's side, and the visions would flock to her like wolfbats seeking a target.

A dim room, only candlelight. A man whose presence was intimidating by title. He would shed his robes and stand in the darkness, the light playing itself over his muscles. Then she would enter, his courtesan, dressed in scarlet and gold and made to look like his queen, like his Fire Lady.

The visions grew jumbled then, for Ty Lee didn't know how to imagine what Azula would do. She didn't think Azula would scream or show fear, both reactions that would have been antithetical to the princess's cold shell. Part of her thought that perhaps Azula just stood still, like a statue, and let her father do as he wished.

She tried not to consider a third possibility, which was of course then what her mind offered to her time and time again. She recalled what Azula would do to her and Mai, her smile seductive, her eyes heavy, and her fingers passionate, and wondered whether Azula performed thus for her father too.

Just a performance—surely that was all it was. Ty Lee couldn't contemplate any other option. She hated herself for imagining it, hated that she couldn't get the pictures out of her mind. Surely that meant there was something wrong with her.

But most of all, Ty Lee hated that when she thought of Azula's trysts with her father, while disgust and anger were foremost among her emotions, jealousy also rose vile and bitter in her throat.

His eyes roaming over her red lips. His hand touching hers, bringing her closer. His mouth in the junction of her neck and shoulder.

She was driving herself insane, little by little, unable to get the visions from her mind, unable to stop the emotions that came with them. Jealousy was absurd, bitter, downright evil—and yet it touched her, plagued her, swept over her whole body. Positivity was impossible, so she maintained an illusion of it, and the others hadn't yet cared to decompose it.

On the night before they were to leave for the Boiling Rock, Ty Lee found she was unable to take it any longer. The thoughts were a demon that had taken over her body and soul. She needed to exorcise it, and she knew of only one way.

_(And how dare she suffer, how dare she deign to think she was hurting, when the burden on Azula's shoulders was surely a thousand times worse-?)_

The palace's halls were dark at night. Ty Lee's presence was common enough there now that the guards knew her. They would nod curtly her direction. Usually she'd smile or even offer a greeting, but not tonight. Tonight her heart was beating loudly enough to obscure any thoughts. Fear and hope alike fled her mind as she focused on her goal and only on her goal.

Azula. Azula.

She was only afraid of encountering Ozai in these halls, for she didn't know what she would do if she saw her Fire Lord on such equal ground.

_(Fall flat before him, murmur his praises, as she'd been taught? Attack without mercy, throw her life away, end the day a singed corpse?)_

But she reached her princess's chambers and slipped inside without running into anyone of note. Too late the thought struck her that she should have told Mai. But then she would have been dissuaded, and Mai would have spoken words that would have been sensible but for the enormity of the emotion that had gripped Ty.

She was going to save the person she loved, no matter the cost.

Azula wasn't in her rooms. There was only shadow and the lingering scent of ash. Ty Lee was all too familiar with these chambers, and so she crossed them without light and lay on the bed. The silks smelled of Azula.

Before she could stop herself, her thoughts were running away again. Ty Lee imagined Azula safe and free, somewhere far away, her skin unmarred with bruises. There would be a weight off her shoulders, and the princess would smile, not only with vicious intent but from true happiness. And in time, perhaps, they could come back for Mai, and the rest of the world needn't ever know—

Only when the door opened did Ty Lee realize that tears were streaming down her face at the all-too-wistful fantasies that had stolen her away.

"What's wrong with you?"

Azula's voice was cutting. She strode across the room and stared down at Ty Lee. She had never seen the acrobat so upset before, but her face revealed no surprise. If anything, she seemed impatient.

Ty Lee sniffled and forced herself to sit up. "Is this a bad time?"

"How polite of you to ask. Yes, actually." Rather than paying attention to her guest, Azula strode about the room, pulling the elaborately stitched tunic from over her shoulders and the shirt after it. Ty Lee tried not to stare, but it was difficult when Azula began unwinding the long strips of linen that kept her breasts in place. It was only when Ty noticed a dark spot in the curve of her princess's back that her resolve returned to her.

"Azula, I have to talk to you, and it's important."

"Father's expecting me," Azula said, and now it was her belt and pants that hit the floor, leaving her nude. She disappeared into the washroom. Ty Lee didn't follow. She watched the shadows cast across the wall, watched Azula's shadow run her hands through her hair and over her skin, anointing herself with perfume.

"I'll wait," Ty murmured. She twisted the cloth of the sheets in her fists and tried not to think about the possibility of failure.

Azula emerged minutes later, still naked, but her skin was shining and her hair was combed. She was beautiful, even with her eyes dark and angry, even with a frown splitting her face. She was beautiful enough to force Ty Lee to take a deep breath and look away.

"Ty Lee, I don't have time to talk to you," Azula informed her irately while pulling an intricate silk robe about her shoulders. "Go home. There's tomorrow."

"No," Ty Lee said. She stood from the bed and crossed to the door, but didn't exit. She turned around to face Azula, ignoring the desperate pounding of her heart. "There isn't tomorrow. I want to talk to you now. Please."

Something crossed Azula's face, but it was gone too fast for Ty Lee to recognize it. Azula seemed to have decided that an argument wasn't worth it, for she folded her arms and waited for the acrobat to get on with it, even while she tapped a foot impatiently.

"You don't have to do this," Ty Lee said. The words were tumbling through her without a censor, flooding from her mouth like a waterfall. She was going to say something she would regret.

"Do  _what_?"

"Fuck him!" The words came out high and shrill. Ty Lee, knowing that she had crossed a point of no return, forced herself to continue talking. "It isn't right, Azula, what he does to you. He's destroying you. He's breaking you. You do everything he asks. You're the best daughter in the world, the best princess in the world, but it's not good for you. You're going to destroy yourself. Please, just-"

"Ty Lee." Azula's voice was soft, not yet carrying anger. Ty immediately ceased the flow of words, in time for Azula to deliver a cold smile and cold words. "Don't speak of this."

She swallowed. "...No. I've been quiet too long. I have to help you."

"And how do you intend to do that?" The anger was there now, cold and clear in Azula's voice. There was no softness in her eyes, just contempt.

"We can run," Ty Lee said. "We can escape. With how smart you are, it'll be easy. We can go across the world, run from everyone who tries to catch you. Just us, just you and me, and he'll never touch you again."

"I see." Azula lifted a hand to cradle Ty Lee's chin. "So you want to take me away from my crown and my throne to live with you in the dirt?"

The tears were coming again. It would not work. Of course it wouldn't. What had she been thinking? Ty Lee was so small, so insignificant. All she wanted to do was pull her friend from the clutches of the most powerful man in the world, and Azula didn't want to come with her.

"We could be happy," Ty whispered.

"You could," Azula said. Their lips were very close now, as if Azula was going to kiss her, but she didn't. She simply drove daggers in with each word. "Perhaps such a simple destiny would suit you. Not me. I was born for something greater. And when I kill my brother and the Avatar, the throne will be all but mine."

"But you're hurting-!"

"This isn't about me, Ty Lee," Azula said. "I see the way you look at me. It disgusts you, doesn't it? You can't stand it. But you're selfish enough to still want me, so you'll just strip away the unsavory bits and steal me away. Is that it?"

The tears were coming hard now. Her face was blotchy and her nose was running. "...Yes."

"Father's expecting me," Azula repeated. The anger was gone. She had assumed, once more, that perfect mask, all dressed up, her hair sleek and dark, her eyes bearing black edges, her lips shining with artificial color, her skin smelling of exotic flowers. She looked through her childhood friend and erstwhile lover, looked through the door into the future, where someone else awaited her. The clarion call of the goals she had heaped upon her shoulders since childhood was not dissuaded by something as foolish as this. Her plans would go on. "Get out of the way."

Ty Lee steeled herself. She wouldn't move. She would fight Azula, incapacitate Azula, drag her away. She would keep Azula out of her father's wretched clutches, with or without the princess's permission. "I love you."

Only then did Azula's mask flicker and her face show something else. Then it was gone all too soon.

"I know. Get out of the way."

The princess raised a hand. Each of her fingers conjured a small blue fire. The two girls were standing close enough together that Ty Lee could feel the heat. Still she refused to move. She raised her own hands, telling herself that she was not fighting Azula but fighting for Azula.

"Are you going to be even more treasonous, Ty Lee?" Azula asked. "I would have expected better from you."

"I'm going to save you," Ty Lee said, as much to herself as to the princess.

Azula smiled _. "Too late."_ Then the princess brought her hand flying forward, ready to shove Ty Lee out of the way. But just as they connected, a knock from the door at the acrobat's back stopped them both where they stood.

"Azula."

The princess visibly whitened. Ty Lee recognized that voice, and recognition was enough to inspire terror into her. The figure from her nightmares was on the other side of the door, coming for his prey.

"I'm here, Father," Azula said. She pushed the now-limp Ty aside and opened the door. And there Fire Lord Ozai stood, towering over both of them. His eyes traveled from his daughter to the girl standing beside her, the girl with blotchy cheeks and her fists half-heartedly raised.

"What is this?"

"It's nothing. We were discussing plans for tomorrow." Azula made to leave, to close the door and leave Ty Lee alone in the darkness once again. But as she went, as Ty Lee saw Ozai's hand rest upon Azula's shoulder, the visions shot through her mind once more, and madness overtook her.

"You can't! You can't go! You can't have her!" She flew forward as if possessed by a spirit, her fists ready even to strike down the man she had been taught her whole life to respect and obey above all others. Fear wasn't important. Her own life certainly wasn't. All that mattered was the dark-haired girl standing in her red robe, going to the slaughter.

Father and daughter turned as one. Azula's eyes were wide with panic, more emotion on her face than she had displayed all evening. Ozai wasn't looking at her, his attention instead fixed on the small girl who had the nerve to attack him.

Ty Lee didn't have the chance to land a hit before something very solid connected with her stomach. She felt her head hit the wall, saw lights burst in front of her eyes, and then there was another blow. She slid to the floor and clutched her ribs, trying to draw breath.

"Guards," she heard a voice command. When her eyelashes fluttered open, she saw two pairs of feet moving away from her.

"You—you," she tried. The feet paused. "You're a monster. You'll pay for hurting her."

"Is this girl your friend?" Ty Lee heard. She moved her head, trying to see their faces. Her vision was clearing slowly, too slowly, and now there were foreign hands on her, pulling her upright, pulling her down the hall.

"You're a monster!" she screamed, tears coming down her cheeks like rain.

She saw Azula's face clearly now, watched the princess turn back to observe her, look her up and down. She watched Azula's lips part as if she was about to speak. And then Ty Lee watched Azula turn her back, her silks brushing the ground, her head still held high.

"No. She's disposable."

Ozai nodded his assent and didn't bother to look back at the guards when he issued the order. "Drag her outside and kill her."

"Azula! Azula!" Ty Lee was hysterical, no thoughts left for the words that had just fallen from Ozai's lips. She screamed after her princess, praying that her words would reach. She had only wanted to help. She had wanted to save her. "I love you! I love you! I-!"

But then the guards were dragging her around the corner, and Azula disappeared from sight, and Ty's words devolved into tears as she realized that she had failed.

(Two at the Boiling Rock. Then just one.)


End file.
